Save Me From The Dark
by DoubleInfinity516
Summary: Hermione is going through a hard time and needs some help out of the depression she is falling into after her life turns into a nightmare. Who other to help than her than Harry Potter? Lots of fluff. HP/HG. Warning: For a mature audience. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter series, anything you do not recognize is my own. No copyright infringement is intended.

Save Me From The Dark, A Harry Potter Fanfic

**Chapter One  
Bruises Fade But The Pain Remains**

A bushy, brown hair girl sat curled up next to the window wishing she had enough courage to just jump out of it like she had imagined so many times before. The sky was dark with few stars in the sky and every time she saw a shooting star cross before her eyes she would wish she could fade into the black abyss along with it. Although, right now she would settle for just being able to fall asleep; to be able to shut her eyes and forget about everything in the real world, but she couldn't. She couldn't because for the last four weeks she had been suffering from horrible nightmares. Nightmares where a large man with strong arms and horrible breath would come to her room and rape her while she screamed and cried, pleading with him to stop. The issue was, her dreams reflected her reality.

No matter what she did, she couldn't escape the hell she was living. She wasn't sure when things got this bad or how they got to this point exactly. All she knew was right now… at this point in time… she wanted to escape. She wanted to escape from everything that was going on in her life. She wanted to be able to go to a place where when he touched her, she couldn't feel what he was doing. To a place where she had no conscious thought. A place where she could detach her soul from her body and just float away. If only she could. If I only she could just disappear.

Her life changed drastically the moment she stepped into her house after she got back from school last year. When the train arrived back at the platform she only saw her Mother standing there waiting for her and she became concerned. Her Father had always come with her Mother to pick her up, so she wondered why he hadn't this year. Her mother told her she would explain when they got home and to not worry. Well, she did worry; it was just how she worked, she worried and analyzed everything.

When she found out the reason why he was not there, she realized she had a reason to be concerned. Her Mum told her that her Father had died during a Death Eater attack at her home and that she was to be remarried in a month. At first she didn't believe her, she thought she was playing a cruel joke and yelled out her fathers name. She ran all around the house, trying to find him, but after searching the whole house and finding no sign of him she returned to the kitchen and fell to ground crying, realizing her Mother was telling the truth.

Hermione was angry, so angry her body began to shake and she could feel her blood pressure rise. She didn't understand how her Mother could fall for another man that fast and how could she now tell her own daughter any of this before this point in time. Her mother told her she thought it would be easier to tell her once she got home, rather than spring everything on her during the school year since she knew how important her grades were to her and how drastically the news would effect her school work. Well, Hermione didn't like her reasoning. She told her Mum she should have said something sooner, no matter what the consequences may have been.

Well, two months had passed by since that day in the kitchen and she found out her step-dad was an awful man. She honestly never thought she could have such a strong hate for someone, but once she met him, she knew she could. Every time he walked in the room she cringed and tried to get out of his sight. The majority of her time since she got home was spent in her room. Sometimes she'd wake in the middle of the night hearing her Mum scream as her so-called "stepfather" beat her mother to a point where she could not move

She had sent a letter to Ron and Harry telling them about her Father's death and about the upcoming wedding. They both wanted to come and see her but she had told them that she was fine and to not worry about her. She lied and said she was busy helping her Mum plan the wedding and she wouldn't have the time to spend with them; that she would see them soon enough. They weren't exactly happy but they let it be. She wanted to tell them how badly she was hurting right then, but she didn't want to seem weak. At the point in time she thought the pain could never get any worse, but she had soon found out the truth.

Suddenly She heard a car door slam and it pulled her out of her thoughts. She quickly sunk below the window and under her blankets, hoping he hadn't seen her sitting in the window. She heard the front door open and the sounds of drunken slurs coming from downstairs. Then just as she dreaded she heard a creak of the stairs, signaling someone was starting to walk up them. They suddenly stopped; her bedroom door burst open slamming against the wall behind it. A second later her stepfather walked in the room yelling and swearing at her.

"Get up ya fuckin' whore!" he slurred. She stayed still, hoping he'd believe she was fast asleep and leave the room. But when she didn't move he grabbed her arm and pulled her up, ripping her clothes off as he went.

"Please no," She whimpered as a tear ran down her cheek. A hand made contact with her head and she slowly slipped into the darkness.

[Break]

'_Damnit!'_ Hermione thought as she looked around. She was lying on her floor naked; this had happened so many times in the last month that it now seemed like routine. Her body was bruised heavily and she could barely see out of one eye. Slowly she pulled herself up off the floor and curled up on her bed, covering herself with a blanket. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a razor blade. She twirled it around in her hands, looking at it closely. Ever since she got home this small piece of metal had become her best friend. Whenever things got to be too much she'd take it out and it would take all her anxiety away. She put the razor against her skin and pulled it across, closing her eyes; basking in the relief that it brought her. She pulled the blade away from her skin and pressed against the cut, stopping the bleeding and intensifying the pain.

When the blood had stopped dripping down her arm she got up, gathered her clothes and a towel, and then headed to the bathroom. She shut and locked the door behind her, then turned to look in the mirror. She could see the semi-healed cuts on her arms, black and blue bruises, and an almost completely swollen shut eye. She reached her hand up to feel her eye and winced in pain. She felt the back of her head and could feel a very large bump from where she had been hit.

Hermione opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed the last vial of purple liquid she had left. She popped off the top and drank it all in one large gulp. Slowly she watched the bruises fade to barely visible marks. She reached once again and felt where the bump had been on the back of her head. It also had faded away, yet she could still feel the pain that was radiating off of her body.

She stepped into the water; letting the filth she felt all over her wash away as the water ran down the drain. _'Why me? Why me?'_ was all she could think, repeating it over and over again in her head. She started to feel dizzy and leaned up against the wall for support. See was sick of the pain, sick of her life, sick of the way she felt. She couldn't tell anyone what had been happening since that asshole moved into her home. She needed someone to save her from the darkness that she was falling into. Cutting helped, but that only gave her temporary relief, and that was barely enough. She wanted to be numb to everything that was going on around her; instead she felt a constant pain.

The water began to run cold so she shut it off and wrapped a towel around herself tightly. She got dressed and headed back to her room, planning on writing Ron and asking if she could stay the rest of the summer. She hoped Harry would be there, he always knew how to help her. She didn't mean that Ron wasn't a big help, but he was a bit thick sometimes. Hermione sat at her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment and began to write the letter to Ron.

Dear Ron,

I hope your summer has been good so far. Mine has been a bit different. I was wondering if I could come and visit. I miss Ginny, Harry, and You so very much. I'm even starting to miss the twin's pranks. Write back and let me know, I can't wait to get away from here.

Love from, Hermione

She folded the letter up and called her owl Bubbles down form her perch. She was a present from here Mum after she found out her Dad had died. She loved the owl, but every time she looked at it she remembered finding out about her Dad's death and the immense pain that had come from it. Bubbles stuck out her leg and Hermione attached the letter to it. She opened the window and let her fly off into the sky. Then she got up reluctantly and walked downstairs.

She saw her stepfather, Frank, sitting on the couch with a beer in his hand and her Mum in the kitchen sporting a black and blue eye much like her own that was now concealed. Hermione was lucky, she at least had magic to hide what he had done to her, her mother had to leave her shame out in the open for everyone to see. She walked as quietly as possible into the kitchen and set to making herself some breakfast.

"Hi Hun," Her Mum said to her in a quiet voice, "how's your eye doing?"

"It's all right," she said wincing as She reached out to touch it. She couldn't stand how nonchalantly her mother brought up her eye, it was as if she was just asking if she got a good night sleep or if she had fed her owl; not asking if she was okay after her stepfather had beat and raped her the night before. Her Mother never knew what he was really like until after they had been married and by then he had far too much control over them to get out.

"I can fix you something to eat if you would like," she said with a sad look on her face.

"It's all right mum, I'm just going to make some toast quickly," she said grabbing the bread and cutting a piece off, then sticking it in the toaster. "I wrote Ron about staying the rest of the summer with him at The Burrow. What do you think?" She asked.

"All right honey, just keep me updated on what's going on. I'll talk to your father about it," Hermione scowled. "He's not my Father, my Father wouldn't treat me the way he does," She muttered under her breath. She felt bad leaving her mum with him; it would mean she would be the only one to deal with his beating sessions.

Hermione's toast popped up out of the toaster, she put them on a plate and headed back up to her room. Bubbles was sitting on her bed with a letter attached to her leg. She untied the letter, unfolded it and began to read,

Hey Hermione!

I was going to write you today and invite you to stay, but it looks like you already beat me to that. Sure you can come! Harry has been her for a couple of days already and we can't wait to see you! We'll pick you up at 5 PM tonight through the floo; Dad's getting your house connected for the day. Have your stuff ready and see you soon!

Cheers, Ron

Hermione was ecstatic. _'I'm finally leaving!' she thought_. She had one problem to deal with though, what was she going to do about her eye? Ron and Harry would question her about it for sure. She knew the potion didn't last very long, maybe eight hours at most. What would she do once it wore off? She didn't have anymore left and brewing it would be impossible since she would be constantly around someone. She couldn't tell them the truth; they would turn on her for sure. She put her books, clothes, homework and many other necessities into her trunk, then glanced at the clock. It was only one o'clock; she still had four hours to kill until Ron would be there with Harry.

She glanced over at the drawer next to her bed ... no, she had promised herself she wouldn't cut anymore. She reached over and grabbed the blade and flipped it open, fingering it a little. First she made a small cut, but it felt to good to stop. She made a larger one, and then one twice the size of the last. It felt like the blood coming out was all her emotions that she had locked inside her for too long. One moment she felt fine and the next it was as if she would never be happy again. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sighed. 'How am I going to get away with all of this?' she asked herself and began to cry.

**Authors note: Some people might recognize this story a little since it was originally posted in 2004; a lot of it has been changed and basically entirely rewritten. When I deleted it after realizing I hated where this story was going I promised i'd eventually be back with it. Well, as promised, it is back... it just took me five years. =]**

I'll try to update once every week. I have 30 pages worth of the older version of this story written already, but once i'm done redoing and posting those chapters the updates might slow down a bit.

**Leave me some reviews and tell me what you think. =]**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter series, anything you do not recognize is my own. No copyright infringement is intended.

Save Me From The Dark, a Harry Potter Fanfic

**Chapter Two  
More Than Just A Dream**

"Hermione? Hermione! Come on, wake up," a guys voice said.

"Is she okay? I mean look at the blood on her arm," said another guy, pointing at the caked on blood.

"Yeah, she's moving," the first one said as the girl started to shift.

"Ouch," Hermione said, moving and putting weight on her arm. She opened her eyes slowly and saw two emerald ones looking down at her with worry in them. Behind him she could make out a tall, skinny boy, with red hair.

"You all right?" Harry Potter asked.

"Yeah, my arm is just really sore," She said. _'Oh god... Oh god... My arm ... their going to want to know what happened ... think Hermione think...'_

"You have some cuts on it, what happened?" He asked as he helped her to sit up.

"Oh… Crookshanks got a little feisty earlier while I was trying to clip his nails," She said in a hurry, pulling her long sleeve shirt down over her arms to hide her shame and to prevent further questioning.

"You know you could bring her to the vet, they could do it without looking like his own personal scratching post in the end," said Ron with a cheery laugh. Hermione looked at Ron and laughed right along with him but when she glanced toward Harry she could tell he wasn't tricked by her story. '_Shit, shit, shit!'_

"You got your stuff all ready to go?" Harry asked, changing the subject for her.

"Yeah, it's by the closet door," She said standing up. Blood rushed to her head and her vision started to go black; she swayed slightly and almost fell. Harry noticed though and put his arm around her, helping her to steady herself.

"Don't worry, I got you," He said. She was surprised by the sudden warmth and comfort she felt the minute his arms wrapped around her. It was like she would never be hurt again while she was in them. She leaned into him slightly, enjoying the feeling. She was brought back to reality when Ron spoke, "Nice bird," he said as he picked up her cage. "When did you get it?" He asked.

"When we got home for the holiday, her name is Bubbles. She's a present from my Mum," she said as they started making their way toward the door. "Oh, um, hold on. I forgot something," She said. She turned around and grabbed the blade that had been under her on the bed. '_Good thing they didn't notice._' Harry tilted his head, trying to get a look at what she had put in her pocket unable to.

"What did you forget?" He asked in a curious tone.

"Oh, just a bit of change that fell out of my pocket" She lied. She hated lying to them but she couldn't tell them the truth.

They once again turned to the door and finally made it down the stairs. Her Mum was standing there in front of her step Dad who looked as if he were ready to kill. The face he was making made her take a step closer to Harry, who had his arm around her waist.

"Erm... have a fun time Hun. I'll be at Kings Cross Station when term ends, ok?" She asked.

"All right, Mum, I Love you," Hermione leaned forward to give her a hug, then pulled back. She glanced at the man standing next to her, gave him a quick "bye," and turned back to Ron and Harry. Ron threw floo powder into the fire, handed the bag to Harry, stepped in with her trunk and yelled "The Burrow" clearly before disappearing. Harry threw some in next and stepped in, still holding onto Hermione.

Hermione soon felt a pull and was then spinning in circles. When they stopped she almost fell forward but was caught once again by Harry tightening his grip on her. They stepped out and he helped her to the Kitchen table, making her sit down.

"You sure you are okay, you look a little pale," He asked Hermione, looking concerned. She was about to answer when Mrs. Weasley spoke.

"You do look a little sick dear, you feeling all right? Maybe you should take a quick rest. Harry dear, why don't you help her up to Ron's room. Ginny has been sick a lot lately and I don't want either of you to catch it so Hermione and You will be sharing Ron's room while he bunks up with Fred and George. Their here while their shop has some things fixed. They exploded something… again."

"Alright," He was about to help Hermione up but she stopped him.

"Really, I feel fine," She said putting on a fake smile for everyone and looking around.

"Oh come on, you don't really think I'm going to believe that, do you?" Harry asked.

"No, not really. A girl can try though, can't she?" she asked in a defeated tone.

"Come on," He said helping her up the stairs to Ron's room at the very top of the house. When they made it to the room Hermione left Harry's arms and sat down on one of the beds, crossing her arms.

"Oh come on, lay down," she laid back still crossing her arms. "What's that for?" He asked.

"I never got a hug hello," She said trying to look sad, but almost began to laugh. He smiled and gave her a hug, "it's good to see you," He said. She nuzzled into his chest, holding onto him tightly. Harry began to pull back but Hermione didn't loosen her grip on him so he just stayed there holding her.

_'You know, you should let go,'_ She thought to herself. _'Mhhhhhh, he feels nice. Hermione stop it and let him go! No, I think I'll stay right where I am, thanks. Oh my, did I just have a conversation with myself?'_

"Hermione, I think you should let go now," Harry said. _'Please let her say no,' _he thought to himself. He knew if someone came upstairs they would get the wrong idea so he pulled back.

"Um, yeah, sorry," She said while also pulling away from him, now feeling lonely again.

"You look like you have something on your mind," Harry said, tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"No, just tired, that's all. I'm fine, promise." Harry decided to drop it for now. She would tell him what was going on eventually… right?

"You better lay down and rest for a while or Mrs. Weasley will have a fit."

"Yeah, I guess your right. Will you stay up here until I fall asleep?" She asked, looking embarrassed by her request. She knew it seemed like a lame thing to want but for some reason she felt scared being alone.

He smiled, "Yeah, hold on a sec," He got up, went over to his trunk, pulled out Quidditch Though The Ages and flopped back onto the bed next to her, kicking off his shoes.

"Thanks," She said quietly then turned over to look at the wall. She wanted to tell him the truth but just couldn't bring herself to say anything. She was scared if she told him the truth he would stop talking to her and then she would be alone, which was one of the things she feared most right now.

"Harry... can I ask you something?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, what is it?" He replied, rolling over onto his side and looking at her.

"If... if I told you something that happened, well... If something happened and I told you..." She started but then stopped, unable to find the right words to ask him.

"What..." He said looking concerned, "What happened?"

"N-Nothing... I just wanted to ask you something. But it's not important, nevermind."

"No, what did you want to ask me?"

"Just never mind, kay?" She said, trying to drop it.

"No, what is it. I want to know. It can't be anything bad, right? Or is it, just tell me Mione', please?" He begged giving her a puppy dog face, knowing it worked every time.

"Fine... If something bad happened, and I told you about it... would you hate me for it and stop talking to me?" She asked slowly.

"No, I could never hate you. Plus I'm sure if it was a bad thing you didn't do it. Why, what happened?" He asked, urging her forward when she didn't respond.

"Nothing, just a hypothetical question," She said, giving him another fake smile.

"You really think I'm going to believe that?" He replied giving her a come-on-Hermione-you-know-me-better-then-that look.

"Really Harry, it's nothing. I was just wondering. But I really should get some rest," She relied, regretting bringing it up.

"Alright ... but you promise you would tell me if something was wrong, right?" He asked looking a worried still.

"Promise," She said feeling her heart drop a little. She had only been back for an hour and she had already lied to him over five times, what kind of friend was she?

She turned over and faced the wall once more, trying to fall asleep. Slowly her eyelids became heavy like there were bricks weighing them down. The second she shut them she was asleep.

[Break]

_She was sitting on her couch home alone. The front door suddenly flew open and her step dad was standing there in front of her with an evil gleam in his eyes. '_Oh shit, oh shit_!' She jumped from the couch and got behind it, hiding from the man._

"_You can run, but you can't hide, you bitch!" He yelled._

_She made a run for the stairs and headed for her room. She reached her destination and paused, looking for a place to hide. '_Where to hide, where to hide_?' Her eyes passed over the closet and she quickly got inside, closing the door quietly behind her. Just as she closed the closet door, the door to her room was opened._

"_I know you're in here. Come out, come out, where ever you are!" Frank said in a sweet childish voice._

_He walked slowly, eyeing his surrounding as he went. He stopped in front of the bed and suddenly reached down, pulling up the bed skirt as he went. "Ha!" he yelled, then looked disappointed when she was not there. He stood back up and once again and began walking. Next he arrived in front of a window seat, pulling up the bench to look inside. Once again he didn't find what he came for though and his face got red. _

_After looking in every plausible place she could be hiding he finally came to the closet door, quickly pulling it open. "Ah ha! There you are!" He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out of her secret hiding place._

_He pushed her to the ground and laid on top of her, kissing her all over. "This is what happens to naughty girls." He said getting on his knees, pulling at her clothes as she tried to fight him off._

[Break]

'_Wow. The cannons might actually have a chance to make it this year, Ron will be happy,_' Harry thought as he browsed through a quidditch magazine he had found on a table in Ron's bedroom once he had finished skimming Quidditch Through The Ages.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hermione twitch slightly and turned his attention to her. He watched her curiously but after a few seconds of her being motionless once again he went back to reading. A couple minutes later the silence was disturbed by a whine coming from his side. When he looked back at Hermione he could see the fear etched into her face. Her hands were grasping the blanket tight and she was moving around a lot as if she was struggling against some unseen force.

"Hermione! Hermione! Wake up!" Harry yelled shaking her. She jumped up and looked at him, tears coming to her terror filled eyes. Harry immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest and rubbing her back in small circles.

"Shhh... It was just a bad dream. It's ok, nothing is going to hurt you," He said trying to sooth her. "What happened in the dream, what's wrong?" He asked with concern in his voice. He felt her shake her head no and grab onto him tighter, letting her emotions take over.

**Authors note: This story has over 400 hits already but only five reviews with even more people who have added it to their alerts. I'm not one of those writers who will not post because people aren't reviewing... but I do enjoy reading them. So please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, the next one will be up in the next week. =]**

SummerRay2010, Lovette and lalalalaj thanks for reviewing, they honestly make my day so much better. =]

Lionfire5224: Your friend and I probably have some things in common. Thanks for leaving a review and I hope you enjoy the new chapter. =]

gravacor: If your morbid for liking this story then I must be even more morbid for writing it, lol. I think everyone likes the darker side of things sometimes. You'll have to wait and find out what happens to her step dad. As for her using magic to defend herself, well... if you had a man three times your size doing these things to you, you'd probably lose any courage you had to stand up for yourself. Thanks for the review. =]


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter series, anything you do not recognize is my own. No copyright infringement is intended.

Save Me From The Dark, a Harry Potter Fanfic

**Chapter Three  
Will You Be There To Catch Me If I Fall?**

Hermione sat rocking back and forth wrapped up in Harry Potter's arms, tears escaping from her eyes one after another. She really wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him so badly what was causing her so much pain. She promised she would tell him if something was wrong but the fear that he would turn on her was weighing in heavily on her decision. She didn't want to lose one of the people that cared for her most in the world; she had already lost her dad, another blow like that would be a hard one to stomach. She hated her step dad, she really did. He had turned her into a person she had never been before and someone she never wanted to become.

"'Mione... please. I know something is wrong. You never act like this," He said in a gentle voice, trying to comfort her with his words but within he was also scared, scared for her. He could tell something was deathly wrong, he just didn't know how to make her tell him about it. It seemed like every time he tried to get closer to her she just put up a wall, blocking him out.

"R-really Harry, it-it's nothing... ju-just a bad dream. T-that's all," She said still shaken by the dream. She was trying to convince him and half trying to convince her that this all was just a bad dream; a bad dream that she would soon wake from and everything would be how it had been a few months before.

"Hermione..." He started, but before he could say anything else she cut him off.

"Really, it was just a bad dream. Nothing's wrong." She said as she started to pull away from his embrace and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Harry knew she wasn't telling the truth; he had done enough lying about his feelings to know when someone was lying to him, especially one of his best friends. He also knew no matter what he said right now it wouldn't help. Something had changed about her and it wasn't a good something. He knew the cuts on her arm weren't from her cat. He had helped her clip Crookshanks nails many times in the past and not once had he ever got mad and lashed out.

"My head's hurting from crying, I'm going to try and get some more sleep." She lay down on her side, curling her knees up to her chest. Harry took the blanket from the end of the bed and covered her up, and then he cupped her cheek in his hand looking deep into her eyes.

"You promise you are alright, you aren't just putting on a facade?" He asked once more, trying to see if she would say something now that she had calmed down.

"Promise Harry," 'She lied with a fake smile but her mind was screaming something completely different. _'No! No, I'm not! It feels like my world being turned upside down, and I don't know what to do_!'

"Alright… I trust you." Once again he leaned back onto the bead and began to read. "I'll stay just incase you need me though," He said. She moved closer to him so her head was next to but not on his shoulder, cuddling up to him. Harry was surprised by this but happy about it nonetheless.

[Break]

Hermione shot up in bed quickly. Looking around she saw nothing. Harry must have gone downstairs because he was not next to her anymore. '_No light, it must be night now_. _Darn, I slept through the rest of the day_.' She sighed heavily and leaned back against the pillows, _'Why can't I just tell him what's going? Why can't I just tell him everything? He promised he wouldn't be mad no matter what, what are you so scared of Hermione?'_

_'He doesn't know what the secret is yet though. How do you know if you told him the truth he wouldn't get angry? _ _He could blame you; say it's your fault_.'

_'Harry's not like that ... he would never blame me…_'

_'But what happened is entirely your fault Hermione. It was your fault what Frank did to you. Harry would never be able to look at you again if he knew the truth. He would think something is wrong with you._'

_'It wasn't my fault! Harry wouldn't think that!'_

__

'Yes it was and you know it! Don't deny it.'

_'No it's not, stop saying that!'_

'_Yes, Frank was right, you're a slut_!'

"Shut up!" She said out loud. She stood up and quietly crept over to her trunk, pulling out the one thing that could take the pain away for a little and something to wash away the blood. She sat back onto the bed and flipped out the blade. She moved it across her skin, watching as the blood came out as it moved over the skin. She tightened her eyes, absorbing the self-inflicted pain. '_Ahhhhhh. Finally._'

She took a rag from her trunk and wiped the blood away. She pulled her sleeve back down; making sure Harry would not be able to see her fresh embarrassment. She knew if he found out she was cutting he would think she was a freak, hell, part of her thought she was already.

Tears slowly began to build in her eyes. Why didn't she just finish the job? Why didn't she just slit her wrist and end it all now. She would never have to feel pain again. She slowly drew the razor blade to her vain; two cuts down her arm and it would be all over. _'No ... no. ... don't_.' She dropped the blade to the floo, and drew her knees to her chest. '_What am I going to?_'

[BREAK]

Harry was downstairs sitting in the Burrow's kitchen with Ron and Ginny who were talking about the upcoming school year.

"So, who do you guys think the DADA teacher will be this year?" Ginny asked the two boys sitting before her.

"Well, we all know it won't be Umbridge," Ron said chuckling to himself and Ginny joined in.

"I wish Lupin could come and teach again," said Ginny, "At least we actually learned something that year."

"He was bloody amusing too, not all serious like Snape. Have you talked to Moony lately, Harry?" asked Ron, "Harry? Hello, Earth to Harry. You there mate?" Ron elbowed him in the side, which made Harry jump and look at them in confusion.

"Huh, what? Sorry, kind of zoned out a little a bit," He said, finally coming to.

"I asked if you've talked to Moony lately?" Ron asked for the second time.

"Oh, no… not for a couple months now," He replied.

"You should write him a letter and see how he is doing, I heard Mum talking about him a few days ago to Dad, it sounds like Dumbledore has him doing some tough stuff." Said Ginny.

"Ah, yeah, I'll write him sometime."

"What's with you Harry? You're acting all weird." Ginny said curiously.

'"Just got some stuff on my mind," he said nonchalantly.

"Like what? Maybe we can help, right Ron?"

"Ah, sure. What's wrong?" Ron asked honestly not caring in the least.

"Hermione. Something is going on with her but she won't tell me what it is. She keeps saying it's nothing, but I don't believe her." He said with a confused and thoughtful expression.

"Tell her your worried about her," said Ginny.

"I already have. She just says not to and it's nothing to worry about," He said shaking his head.

"I don't know what to tell you mate. Girls are confusing," Ron said.

"No were not, boys are just stupid!" Ginny exclaimed sounding offended.

"Right, I think I'm just going to go to bed. See you all in the morning," Harry said, escaping the obvious up coming fight.

"Kay, cya tomorrow," said Ron.

"Goodnight Harry, don't worry too much about Hermione, I'm sure she's fine," Ginny said trying to reassure him. Harry just nodded his head and headed upstairs.

[BREAK]

Hermione once again flung herself up into a sitting position after having the same dream from a few hours before and looked around only to realize she was at the burrow, safe and sound. _'Ugh! I can't take this! That's it, I'm done doing this_!' She climbed off the bed and grabbed the blade that she had dropped on the floor before. As she stood up she began to sway. She had lost a lot of blood and it was beginning to take a toll on her body. She flipped open the blade and raised it to her wrist as Harry walked in the room.

"What... What are you doing?" Harry asked, hoping this was a dream. Hermione just looked at him with a blank stare, at a loss for words.

"What the bloody hell were you doing?" He screamed at her, moving toward her to take the blade away. She backed away slowly from him, as his face got red.

"Harry, I... nothing… I wasn't doing anything," She said as he reached her and took the blade from her hand. Her vision went fuzzy for a second and she swayed slightly. She reached out and grabbed his shoulder to steady her self.

"Hermione, are you ok?" Harry asked switching from being mad to concerned in a flash.

"Catch me," She said right before she passed out. Harry caught her with his fast quidditch reflexes and screamed for Ron to get his Mom. Harry waited but after a few seconds with no sound he realized no could hear him. '_Damn being at the very top of this house._' He gently laid Hermione down on his bed and ran down to find Mrs. Weasley. He founded her in their sitting room knitting a sweater and listening to the radio.

"Mrs. Weasley! Hurry, Hermione's fainted!' Harry yelled.

"Harry dear, calm down, what are you going on about?" She replied.

"I went upstairs to go to bed and I found Hermione- I mean Hermione and I were talking and she just fainted, you have to come and see if she's all right!" Harry said grabbing at her arm and pulling her towards the stairs in a hurry.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so sooner? Hurry up." She said following behind him. She walked through the door and eyed her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the red stains on Hermione's sleeve.

"Oh dear, oh dear! What's happened?" She mumbled to herself hurrying over and rolling up Hermione's sleeves, looking at her arms. The cuts she had made earlier that night were dried over with blood now and the older ones scared over. She bustled out of the room and into the bathroom looking in the medicine cabinet. '_Where is that vial… oh, there._' She snatched the vial up and rushed back into the bedroom.

"Can you prop her up dear so she can swallow, I don't want her to choke." Harry immediately did as he was asked and Mrs. Weasley bent down next to Hermione, pouring the liquid from the vile into her mouth. Harry moved away as Hermione slowly began to stir and slowly opened her eyes, looking around in confusion.

"Wha-What's going on?" She said trying to stand up but Mrs. Weasley pushed her back down onto the bed.

"It's ok honey, you're going to be all right." She said while trying to calm her down.

Harry stood in the corner watching the scene in front of him. He was trying to convince himself that what he had saw had really not happened. _'No ... she was just ... looking at the blade ... that was all ... just… I don't know… she was just looking at it, nothing more_.' Harry, noticing someone was standing in front of him looked up to meet Mrs. Weasley's eyes.

"She'll be all right Harry, at least in the physical sense, emotionally I'm not so sure right now. I'll talk to Arthur in the morning about what to do... I can't believe no one realized something was wrong… Anyway, I gave her a potion that should help her gain back some of her strength. Make sure she rests stays in bed until morning. I'll be downstairs if you need me." She said quietly then walked out of the room casting a worried glance at Hermione as she left.

Harry's eyes traveled back over to Hermione unsure of what to say. _'I knew something was wrong, I knew it, yet I did nothing to help her. She could have died, all because I left it alone. I should have made her talk_.' He felt as if he could start crying himself but the fact was he was also mad at Hermione. _'Why would she harm herself that way? Surely she has no reason to be that upset. That is not the Hermione I know._'

"Harry..." Hermione said moving into a sitting position on the bed. She had been watching him as he slowly lifted his head up to look meet her eyes. She felt so stupid; she had no idea what to say.

"Hermione... why ... why would you hurt yourself?"

"I didn't do anything Harry, It was an accident," She said still trying to lie. Harry walked over to her and grabbed her arms turning them to face her. "That," He said pointing at her arm, "is not an accident!" He said with anger in his voice. "Tell me the truth, Hermione, what's going on?"

"I... I can't Harry, I just can't." She said shaking her head and looking down to the floor.

"Why not? We're best friends. You can tell me anything, Hermione," He said lowering his voice.

"Because… I can't admit to it… I can't make it real." She said as she lay back down and rolled to her side so she was facing away from him, pulling the blankets over her head to hide the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. But Harry wouldn't give up that easily. He walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled the blankets down, exposing her face and looked straight into her eyes.

"Tell me, I can help. Whatever is wrong, we'll get through it together. We always have."

"Everything a mess, Harry! Everything, and I can't fix it."

"Mess' can be cleaned up Hermione, maybe you can't clean it up on your own, but we could together if you want," He said

"I can't talk about it Harry... it's to humiliating and it hurts to talk about it." She said unable to look at him.

"I don't want you to hurt Hermione, ever. I don't want you to be in pain, but maybe saying it out loud will make some of the pain go away."

"I can't say it, Harry. I can't, please understand that. Give me time."

Harry sighed defeated, "Okay. If time if what you need, I'll give it to you."

"Thank you, Harry." She said finally looking up to meet his gaze. Their eyes locked, both unable to look away.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks to my boyfriend i'm in a good mood and decided to get this chapter out a day earlier, if he keeps me in this good mood I might post the next one Monday night. Quick note before I ramble on some more. This story takes place the summer after the Trio's 5th year at Hogwarts. In my world though Sirius did not die because I think that was a horrible thing to put Harry though, although I do see Rowling's reason's for putting it in the plot. Also, some things are twisted around for my plot to work. Onto reviews.... =]

ray1, SummerRay2010, WolfKeeper989, lovette, lalalalalaj, Angela, and Kajlima thank you for reviewing. =]

PinkandBlonde: I'm glad you like the description and detail; I think stories are always better if you can understand the characters emotions better. Thank you for reviewing. =]

Rose DiNozzo: Don't go hide in the corner, It doesn't sound weird to me lol. Thanks for reviewing. =]

Gravacor: I knew someone would comment about the vet thing, congrats on being the one lol. In my world Ron isn't oblivious to everything muggle (at least not entirely), as for a boy and girl in the same room; shhhh, I won't point it out to Mrs. Weasley if you won't lol. Thank you for leaving a review. =]

Romulus: To someone who has also been reading Fanfiction for 4 years and realizes just how many stories you've probably read by now, saying this is one of the best stories you've read means a lot to me. Thank you. =]

Anime Princess I might do a short story after finishing this one telling the back story of everything that lead up to this point. I'll ask people what they think of the idea on the last chapter and see what the consensus is. Thanks for reviewing. =]

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks ahead of time to the one's who comment. =]


	4. Chapter 4

Save Me From The Dark, a Harry Potter Fanfic

**Chapter Four  
I'll Be Your Strength**

When their eyes met it was like time suddenly stopped and something just clicked, but the moment was soon interrupted when Hermione's stomach growled and it both pulled them out of their trance. Harry was the first to speak saying, "Oh, erm, you must be hungry. I'll go grab us something from the kitchen." He got up off the bed and walked out the door quickly, shutting it behind him, not even waiting for a response from Hermione.

When he got out of the room he leaned his back against the wall and slid down slowly, ending in a sitting position. He put his elbows on top of his knees and rested his head in them, letting out a huge sigh. '_What the hell was that? God, this is turning out to be a strange day. First the razors and now... well, I don't even know what that was._' He let out a sigh again looked over at the door. '_Better get moving, she'll get curious what is taking so long_.'

He pushed himself up off the floor and walked down to the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was sitting at the table with her husband talking in hushed voices. When they saw Harry approaching they stopped and smiled at him.

"Harry dear, do you need something?" She asked in a cheerful tone that Harry could tell was obviously fake.

"Hermione was hungry, I thought I'd come down and find something for her to eat," He said.

"Oh, yes, she probably is hungry! I didn't even think about that," She got up from the table and went about fixing something for him to bring upstairs.

"So, Harry, how are you?" asked Mr. Weasley signaling for him to take a seat in the chair that his wife had just occupied.

"Um... I'm all right I guess, how are you?" He replied back.

"Just fine, just fine," he said with a smile then went to reading his paper. Harry sat there silently watching the time on the clock pass by. He was brought out of his revere when Mrs. Weasley sat a tray down in front of Him.

"There you go dear, now bring that right up. I fixed enough for the both of you since you didn't eat much at dinner. Oh, and make sure you two get some sleep tonight, okay?" She said in a motherly voice.

"We will Mrs. Weasley, thank you for the food," He said as he walked up the stairs with the tray.

When Harry got back to the top of the stairs he paused outside of the door before opening it. He took a deep breath and slowly nudged the door open with the tray. Hermione was sitting on the window seat, staring out at the sky beyond. He walked to his bed and sat the tray down upon it. He noticed she had made up the beds while he had been absent and had also changed into her pajamas. He watched her for a moment, not sure if he should approach her. Deciding he wanted know what was going through her mind he walked over and sat next to her.

"You okay?" He asked quietly, giving her a questioning look.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking," She said back.

"What cha thinking 'bout?"

"Just... stuff. Nothing too important," She said still looking out the window.

"Mrs. Weasley loaded up a tray with food, you want to eat?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure." They both got up and sat on the bed, each taking a plate from the tray. They ate the food in silence, only saying things every few minutes. When they finished Harry put their plates back on the tray and put it on the table beside the bed. Then once again they went back to their previous silence. Harry sat watching her as she rested her head in her hands as he had did before getting the food. He looked over at the clock and realized it was getting late so he decided to say something.

"We should probably head to bed now, it's nearing midnight," He stood up and walked to his trunk, grabbing some pajama pants then headed out of the room to change. Hermione moved to her own bed and snuggled up under the blankets, pulling the covers over her, resting them below her chin. When Harry came back into the room Hermione noticed he had no shirt on. '_Wow, three years of quidditch has really paid off.'_

[BREAK]

Hermione woke up at six the next morning with a start. She looked around for the cause of her disturbed slumber and cringed as thunder sounded throughout the room. She looked out the window and noticed the rain was pouring heavily outside. After a quick glance at Harry to make sure he was asleep she got up and slowly crept to her trunk that was at the foot of her bed. She opened the top and looked though it, trying to find a notebook that she wrote in all the time and a pen. She never really understood why Hogwarts hadn't switched to using notebooks and pens, having to renew the ink every few seconds was a pain on really long essays.

Once she had located the black notebook with scribbles across the front she once again silently made her way back to her bed and laid down. She opened the cover and flipped to a blank page. She put the pen to the paper and started to write.

_A secret on the tips of my lips  
With a single word my life could slip_

_This terrible secret known by only me_

_Should I go back on a promise and let them all see_

_Blood drips down my arms as I fight back the tears  
With every cut I create a new fear_

_Self-mutilation is my number one choice_

_The cuts on my arms reflecting my voice_

_Telling everyone would only create more drama_

_So I've kept me lips sealed shut, for I have dealt with enough trauma_

She gave the poem a once through and then titled it "_A Secret On The Tips Of My Lips_". She shut the cover of the notebook and laid it down beside her with the pen on top. She leaned back and shut her eyes, enjoying the quiet that surrounded her. Shortly she heard a groan from across the room and she turned to look over at Harry's bed. She watched him slowly sit up and wipe his eyes. He looked over and gave her his famous lopsided grin.

"Good morning, you're up early," He said eyeing her curiously for any new signs he should be worried.

"Yeah, the storm woke me up, I'm surprised you slept through it."

"After sharing a dorm with Ron for five years I've gotten used to loud noises."

She laughed a little, "Yeah, I'm glad I've never had to share a room with him. Ginny snores, but I don't think it's anything compared to Ron."

"Probably not," he laughed before they both went quiet.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Hmmm."

"When will you tell me the truth about what's going on with you?" He asked.

"It's nothing you need to worry about Harry, I can handle it on my own."

"The marks on your arms don't seem to give me that impression. Just answer me one thing..."

"Depends what your questions is," She replied honestly.

"Are you cutting yourself on purpose? And don't lie to me Hermione, please don't lie," Harry asked.

Hermione was quiet for a little thinking if she should tell him the truth or not, "Yes...but I'm not planning on doing it anymore," she said with a sigh.

"Why did you start?" He asked.

"I don't want to talk about that... not now," She said as she picked up her notebook and began to put it back in her trunk. Harry got off his bed and stood behind her, laying his hand gently on his shoulder. Turning her so she was facing him.

"I won't make you, but just know that if you need to talk, I promise to listen. Please don't do it anymore Hermione, I don't want to see you hurt."

"But I already am... more then you know and you can't help me," She stated.

"I can't help if you won't tell me why it all started..."

"I already told you. I can't tell you right now. It's just too hard to talk about." She was starting to get upset and he could see it written across her face. '_Maybe if I press a little harder…_'

"Please, you don't have to tell me everything, just some of it…" He reached out to put his arms around her but she pushed him away as tears came to her eyes.

"I can't say it," She said as her tears started to fall and she ran out of the room.

Harry stood there for a moment in shock. He didn't expect her to react that way. If he knew he would upset her that badly he would have dropped the subject. He thought maybe if he kept trying she'd break and tell him; not knowing was driving him crazy. Maybe it was his saving people thing he had heard about, but he needed to know what was doing this to his best friend.

[BREAK]

Hermione ran from the room as fast as she could. It was now nearing 7:30 in the morning but outside was still dark, the clouds from the storm blocking the sun's warm rays. Her tears clouded her vision as she ran through the back door of The Burrow and out into the pouring rain beyond. The water beat cold and hard against her skin but she didn't seem to notice as she ran at full speed.

Her side suddenly cramped and she fell to the wet ground, beating it with her fists. '_I CAN'T SAY IT. I CAN'T ADMIT TO IT! I CAN'T… I JUST CAN'T._' She was crying uncontrollably when Harry arrived. He stopped suddenly when he found her on the ground. He looked up at the dark sky, wishing it would clear and bring some light to this situation. When he reached her he sat beside her and gently pulled her into his lap. She didn't seem to react at all, for a short time he didn't think she even realized what was happening until she spoke quietly.

"He raped me," she said quietly. If it weren't for the fact his head rested against hers he wouldn't have heard it above the loud rain surrounding them. He stopped rocking her for a moment as his body froze in shock.

"Who? I swear Hermione; I will kill them. I swear to god, they are as good as dead," he said, never before as serious as he was at that moment.

"My step-dad… I… I always told him no. I always tried to fight. But… he's so big and I couldn't stop him. I should have fought harder. I should have said something. Told someone. It was my fault, I should have done something to stop it but I couldn't. I just wasn't strong enough."

"Stop Hermione, stop right there. It wasn't your fault, you didn't ask for this. You're the strongest witch I know." Harry returned once again to rocking her gently. When she finally looked up he saw the bruises she had concealed the day before across her face. He gasped quietly; he hoped she had not heard. '_He's dead,' _was his one thought as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. From here on out things will start to lighten up a bit, but it'll still have some dark moments since I suck at writing the happier stuff I think. The majority of this chapter is completely different from the original story. A Nsync (yepp, still a fan) song gave me some inspiration, lol. The song is called _Are You Gonna Be There_ for anyone that is curious, you can probably find it on YouTube. =]

"A Secret On The Tips Of My Lips" was written by me. It's an altered version of the original I wrote about a year ago. If you'd like to read the original poem and some other poetry i've written you can check out my FictionPress account at .com/~bleedinginsilence =]

Quick note, sorry for any inconsistencies you find in the story or spelling/grammar errors. I try to check over the chapter and everything but I write late at night (i'm talking like 1am-3am, I have major sleep issues) so I can't always catch everything. I hope they aren't too bad though. =]

Thank you to LadyNorth76, Romulus, Gravacor, WolfKeeper989, Lalalalalaj, Lionfire5224, and ray1 for leaving a review, you all make me happy. =]

Thanks in advance to the people who leave me some feedback. =]


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter series, anything you do not recognize is my own. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Save Me From The Dark, a Harry Potter fic

**Chapter Five**  
**Getting Somewhere**

Harry didn't stop rocking her back and forth until the rain became a light drizzle and the sun began to peak through the now light gray clouds. He shifted Hermione slightly and picked her up bridal style, amazed by how light she was. She didn't speak, instead choosing to tighten her arms around his neck and nuzzle her head into the crook of his neck. He walked toward the house, seeing a light on in the kitchen.

When he stepped through the back door to the kitchen he found Mrs. Weasley sitting at the table reading the paper and eating some toast. She cast him a wary glance and told him to set Hermione in the chair, casting a drying and warming charm over the two young teens. Harry tried to sit her in the chair but her hold on him didn't loosen so instead he sat with her in his lap.

"Would one of you like to explain?" she asked, sitting across from them at the table. Harry glanced down at her, but Hermione made no indication as to telling the story. He leaned his head down next to her ear and quietly asked if he could explain. For a moment he thought she would not say anything, but then felt her nod yes against his chest.

"I'm not sure how to say this. It feels wrong telling," Harry said.

"Straight and to the point tends to work best, dear," Mrs. Weasley said.

Harry hesitated for a second, and then said, "Her step-father raped her," Harry stated. The old women across from them gasped and covered her mouth.

"Oh my… Harry, why don't you let Hermione and I talk alone for a little." Harry automatically tightened his arms around Hermione. Mrs. Weasley, not missing a beat, noticed, and said, "It's ok, She will be alright. I promise."

Harry once again leaned his head down and whispered in Hermione's ear, "I'll be right in the other room. Yell if you need me, I'll be right here." He started to pull her arms from around his neck and left her sitting on the chair alone. He walked toward the living room, casting one glance back as he shut the door behind him, giving them some privacy.

Hermione sat in the chair suddenly feeling very alone and exposed. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked toward the door that Harry had just walked out, wishing he had not left. Over the last day she had began to rely on him being around constantly, without him there she felt utterly alone.

"Would you like some tea?" the older women asked. Hermione nodded her head, suddenly realizing she was rather thirsty. Mrs. Weasley stood and started making the tea.

"Do you want to tell me about it? It might help," she said after realizing the young girl was not planning on speaking anytime soon.

"I don't really know where to start," she said quietly. Mrs. Weasley brought a kettle and two cups to the table and poured them each a cup. Hermione grabbed hers and took a small sip, enjoying the warm liquid that slid down her throat.

The older women took the seat next to her and said, "from the beginning seems like a good place to me."

Hermione let out a small sigh and began to speak, "When we got back from school my Mother met me on the platform, without my Father. When we got to the house she told me the death eaters had attacked them and he had been killed. I didn't believe it. How could I? How could they not tell me? She told me some rubbish about not wanting the knowledge to affect my grades. But shouldn't a Mother tell her daughter something that important, no matter the circumstances?" Hermione asked, her voice rising as she went.

"A few months after my Dad died, my Mum met a new man, named Frank. When she told me the news about my Father, Frank wasn't there; she had him leave for the day so she could explain everything to me, alone. She told me Frank was a nice man though… that I would like him, God, what a load that was. It wasn't her fault though; she didn't know the truth either then. It didn't start happening until they got married. After that, he grew such a temper. It started with him just hitting my Mum, but then he started taking out his anger on me, too. I'm not exactly sure anymore when it changed from him just hitting me when he got to drunk," she shrugged her shoulders, the women next to her shook her head, urging her to continue.

"The earliest time I remember is a night he had beat my mom so bad he knocked her out. I ran to help her; I wanted to make sure she was ok. I could see the blood coming from her head and thought he had kill her. I knew it was stupid, she always told me to stay away when he was mad, no matter what was happening, but I couldn't just sit back. But… when I bent down to check her, he yanked me away and threw me against the wall. He started yelling at me, saying I was a whore and a tease. He told me he would teach me a lesson," She said, putting emphasis on the last four words. Mrs. Weasley took the girls hand and held it tight, squeezing it in comfort.

Hermione's words now slowed as she began to speak again, "He pushed me up against the wall and pressed himself up against me. I tried to push him off but he laughed and said I was weak. He started to kiss my neck, his hands were moving all over. He started pulling down my jeans," She cringed as she spoke." I kept asking him to stop, I was pleading, but it did nothing, just made him get rough. He slapped me and told me to shut up. I started to cry; I didn't know what to do. He got my jeans and knickers off; he told me I had been asking for this ever since I first saw him. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about and that I was sorry. But he still raped me, I tried to fight him, Mrs. Weasley, I really did. I swear, but, he was so big… and I couldn't stop him," she let out a giant sob and the older women pulled her against her.

"I'm sorry Hermione, oh dear… I am so sorry," they sat there for a short time until Hermione's tears began to subside and she could speak again.

"When, when he was… done, he let me up and I ran to the bathroom and locked the door. My Mum found me there in the morning. I told her everything. I told her we could get away, but she just looked at me with her sad eyes and said she could never get away. After that his raping sessions became frequent, at least once a week. He wasn't always drunk, it was always after he had a bad day though, and he always said I deserved it, and that I was asking for it. How could I be asking for that?" She wiped her eyes and looked away.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head and replied, saying, "I don't know honey, people like that… they aren't right in their head. They don't see reality like everyone else. But don't worry dear; we'll get him brought to justice. Why don't you go take a nice warm shower to relax and clean up a bit and I'll talk to my husband and see what can be done," Hermione nodded her head and stood.

"Oh, and I have some concealment potions stored under the sink, go ahead and take one if you aren't ready to tell everyone yet," she said with a weak smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," she smiled and hugged the older women then walked through the door Harry had exited through an hour before.

**[BREAK]**

Harry had been sitting in the living room waiting for their conversation to end; he had heard Hermione cry a few times, each time breaking his heart more. He wanted to go to her but realized she should probably talk to Mrs. Weasley alone; he didn't want her to feel awkward if he was there. When he heard the door to the kitchen creak open his head shot straight toward the noise. Hermione walked through the door with blood shot eyes. Once again, his heart broke at just the sight of her.

Neither of them said anything as Harry stood and Hermione walked toward him. He opened his arms and she went straight to them. He tightened his grip on her, promising to never let something like this happen against.

"Thank you, Harry," she said into his chest.

"For what?" he asked.

"For helping me with this," she answered.

"No problem," He said, smiling.

"I need to go shower, I'll see in you in a little, okay?" She asked.

"Alright, I'll walk up with you. I think I'll lay down until breakfast is ready," he said as they pulled away from each other. Without realizing it Hermione reached for his hand and held it as they walked up the stairs. Harry on the other hand noticed, especially when his stomach began to do summersaults at the contact.

**[BREAK]**

Later that morning, after Hermione had showered and everyone in the house had made their way to the kitchen table to eat breakfast. Mrs. Weasley has made an announcement that Her and Arthur needed to make a trip to the Ministry and they wouldn't be home until later on. She had then asked them if they would like to take a trip to Diagon alley and visit Fred and George's newly opened shop while they were gone, since Remus and Tonks had offered to take them so they weren't stuck at home. Everyone had automatically said yes and hurried their eating so they could get ready. Thirty minutes later the parents had left and their chaperones had arrived.

"Hey Lupin," Harry greeted.

"Hello, Harry. Everyone ready to go?" he asked. They all nodded their heads and headed for the fireplace.

First Ginny and Ron stepped into the flames, yelling "Diagon Ally!" Hermione and Harry stepped in next. Harry's hand gently brushed against Hermione's and without thinking she held onto it. Unknown to Harry, Lupin cast him a questioning look before the two teens disappeared.

They stepped out of the fire still holding hands. Neither thought much of it until they looked over at Ginny and noticed she was looking between them. Harry glanced down to where Ginny's gaze was and noticed Hermione's hand intertwined with his. They both blushed and let go quickly before Ron could also see. Ginny giggled a little and headed toward Fred and George's shop.

"Damn!" Ron exclaimed when he saw the piece of paper taped to the door. Written on the paper in bold letters were the words, "ClOSED DUE TO EXPLOSION".

"Well, what do you want to do instead?" Tonks asked.

"I don't know," Ginny said, "anyone have an idea?" she asked. They all just shrugged and decided to walk around. They came upon a new place called the Ink Lab, Ginny squealed in delight saying she had wanted to get her ears pierced ever since she saw Hermione's. When they walked into the shop an older man exclaimed "Remus!" The two men shook hands and Lupin introduced him to everyone as, Deven, an old friend from school.

"So what can I do for you all?" he asked, looking around.

"I wanted to get my ears pierced," Ginny said.

"How old are ya?" he asked.

"Fourteen," she replied.

"Technically I need your guardians permission, but if old Remus here says it's ok, I'll go ahead and do it."

"Please Lupin! My Mum will be okay with it. If she's mad I'll say I got it done without you knowing!" she asked, pleading with him to say yes.

He sighed, "Fine… but she had better not find out I let you." Ginny let out a squeal of delight and said thanks to him.

Deven smiled, "Alright missy, come over here and take a seat," he said, patting the chair next to him.

Harry walked over to Hermione, who was against a wall, farthest away from everyone, looking uncomfortable. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Not really," she said. Harry gave her a knowing look but changed the subject anyways.

"So, what do you think of my getting something pierced? I'm sure Lupin would let me."

"I think you would look good with a lip piercing, but they can be really dangerous if you don't take care of them properly," she told him.

"I'm sure you will make sure I am taking care of it," he laughed.

She gave him a small smile, "You're probably right." Harry grabbed her hand and led her toward Lupin.

"Hey, Lupin, what do you say to me getting my lip pierced?" he asked.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told, Ginny. As long as I don't get blamed it's fine by me. But a lip piercing can be dangerous Harry, you should really think about that one."

"I know, Hermione told me. Don't worry, I'll make sure to take care of it."

Once again Lupin sighed, "Alright, your old enough to make your own decisions. No idea why you want to have a needle shoved through your lip though. Too bad I didn't let Sirius come today, he'd have got a nice laugh out of your scream when the needle goes though." Harry went slightly white at the thought of the pain.

When Deven had finished with Ginny he brought Harry to the chair and helped decided on the best place for the piercing, so it wouldn't interfere with his teeth and gums. Then he dried the area and then put the clamp in place. When he finally got to put the needle through, Harry closed his eyes and gripped the arms of the chair rather tight. Lucky for him he didn't scream, the pain subsided fast but ended in a dull ache.

Harry stood and looked at himself in the mirror before showing everyone else. He liked the look; he thought it fit him rather well. The only person's reaction he really cared about was Hermione's though, so he scrutinized her face when she saw.

"Wow!" Ginny exclaimed.

"You look…" Hermione started, right away Harry thought she didn't like it.

"You look hot, Harry!" Ginny said.

"You really do," Hermione said, blushing. Harry blushed right back, happy that she liked it.

"Looks good, Mate," Ron said.

Before leaving the shop Deven told Harry some instructions for keeping his new piercing clean, then Harry purchased some different jewelry for it since the ring was rather large to accommodate the swelling that would for sure ensue. After leaving The Ink Lab they decided to head toward the other near by shops to buy things and get something to eat.

When they got back home Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley were both sitting at the dining room table. Ginny, not wanting her Mum to notice her freshly pierced ears quickly exited the room. Luckily, Mrs. Weasley didn't notice her daughter's sudden disappearance once she saw Harry's lip. She didn't seem happy about it at first, but ended saying "it's your body." After her conclusion they decided to play some chess in the living room.

"Harry, Hermione, can I talk to you for a minute?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Go ahead Ron, we'll be right there," Harry said. Ron shrugged and exited the room.

"Take a seat you two, I want to talk to you for a moment," Mr. Weasley said. They both exchange glances then took a seat across from the two adults.

"We went down the ministry and talked to the Auror's about what has been happening at your home, Hermione. They said before anything can be done they need you to come in and make an official statement; from there they will see what they can do. Your family being muggle creates a small problem Hermione, but we'll make sure something gets done, even if we have to take it to the muggle police," Arthur said.

"You mean I have to tell someone. Someone I don't know... what he did to me? I don't think I can do that," she said looking unsure.

"We'll be there right there with you dear," she promised, "we'll help you through it," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Will you be there, Harry?" She asked.

"If you want me there, I will," he said taking her hand.

"Good, I'm not sure I could do this without you," she said.

"Now that it's decided, we'll go down to the ministry tomorrow and talk to the auror we talked with today, alright?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Hermione sighed, "Alright." The two adults said goodnight then and headed up to bed, saying they were very tired.

Harry and Hermione sat there in silence for a little before Harry finally spoke. "So, what does this," he lifted up their intertwined hands, "mean?" he asked.

* * *

**Authors note:**

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I wrote it rather fast (Started it at midnight, finished about 2 am). =]

I got five reviews for the last chapter, and I know for a fact due to the statistics (favorites, author alerts, hits) for this story that WELL over five people are reading this. So please leave a review, they let me know what you think. If you leave me a review with something you want to see in this story I might even decide to add it. =]

Onto the reviews... =]

Romulus, MenMen89, WolfKeeper989 and LalalalalaJ thank you for leaving a review. =]

Gravacor: I'm planning on adding something between Frank and Harry. The physical closeness between Hermione and others you mentioned will actually start to be brought up in the next chapter, very perceptive lol. Thank you for reviewing. =]

I'm also writing a story called In His Arms on Fictionpress now. So hopefully my updates for this one will still be on time. =]

Thank you in advance to the people that review and make me happy. =]


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter series, anything you do not recognize is my own. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Save Me From The Dark, a Harry Potter fic

**Chapter Six  
Release**

"I don't really know," Hermione responded.

"Neither do I…" he said back, now wishing he had said nothing.

"How about… we just… see what happens?" she asked.

"I guess," he said, sounding kind of down.

"You guess? You don't sound happy about that."

"I don't know, I guess I just wanted more of an answer," he said.

"How about you tell me what outcome you wanted," she said, urging him on.

"I'm not sure. I guess I was hoping you'd say this was more than friendship," he said now rubbing the back on his head, a nervous habit of his.

"I want it to be more than friendship too, but I'm not sure if I can handle that right now," she said honestly.

"Then I guess your, "Lets see what happens" thing is best, huh?" He asked.

"I think so," she said smiling sadly at him.

He smiled back half heartedly, "Alright. Well, come on then, lets go meet up with Ron and Ginny. I'm sure they are wondering where we are," he said, standing up and pulling out her chair for her. He would be damned if he didn't get the girl. If she wanted to see what happened, then he'd make them happen in the end.

[BREAK]

When Hermione woke the next morning she felt differently, she couldn't exactly put her finger on it but it felt like some of that darkness that had been sounding her was starting to slip away slightly. Slipping away slowly, but away nonetheless.

She dressed nicely for the Auror Office, took her potion, and headed down to eat breakfast, finding Mrs. Weasley already in the kitchen making food for her family. Ever since she started Hogwarts she had seen her more as her mother than her own, especially since she didn't see her parents all that often anymore. Then again, she would never see her father again. She sometimes wished she had been brought up in the magical world, that way her parents could be more apart of her life, but sadly enough things just didn't turn out that that.

'_My Mum's living in hell, and here I am sitting down to eat a nice breakfast with a nice family. How can I enjoy myself right now when my Mum is probably in pain.'_

Hermione sat down at the table and looked at the table with disgust, yet the sight of the food made her stomach rumble, signaling to Mrs. Weasley who was standing nearby that she was hungry and then continued to put some toast on her plate.

"Eat up, we have a hard morning ahead of us," she said.

'_Yeah, hard for me. You're not the one that has to tell the story…_'

After nibbling on her toast for a short time Harry, Ginny and Ron slowly made their way to the table and began to eat along side her. Hermione couldn't help but notice how a simple piercing changed Harry's appearance. Harry suddenly glanced up and her, making her blush and she looked away.

"Ron, Ginny, your father and I are taking Hermione and Harry down to the ministry today. We won't be home probably until around lunch, will you two be ok by yourselves?" she asked.

Ginny and Ron exchanged looks, and then Ginny said, "Obviously, we're not kids Mum. Why can't we come with, though?"

Mrs. Weasley shook her head disapprovingly at her daughter and told her, "Because this matter doesn't concern you, young Lady, and don't pester them about it or you'll be de-gnoming the garden for the next two weeks."

She shut her mouth and went back to eating, nudging Ron to shut up as he began to protest soon after.

"Hurry and eat dears, we'll be leaving once you're done eating," Mrs. Weasley said to Harry and Hermione.

[BREAK]

The interview room Hermione was sitting in was rather cold, making her shiver and feel rather uncomfortable. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting to the right of her, while Harry sat to her left, holding her hand. When a man walked into the room and Hermione unconsciously backed up in her chair Harry gave him a glare and squeezed her hand to reassure her everything was fine.

Hermione on the other hand was feeling rather anxious. She couldn't help notice the resemblance between the man now sitting in the chair before her looking through files and the man who had done all those things to her. She knew they were different, but in the back of her head he felt uneasy being this close to him.

Suddenly the man spoke, saying "Good morning Arthur, Molly," and shuck out his hand to greet them. When he got to introducing himself to Hermione, saying, "Hi, I'm Michael Bartell, you must be Hermione Granger," without thinking he stuck his hand straight in front of Hermione which caught her off guard and made he jump back slightly.

This sudden action caused the man to frown and apologize, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said, truly sounding apologetic.

"It's… ok. You just caught me off guard," she said, stuttering slightly.

"Hmm," was he only response and he scribbled something down onto the parchment sitting on the table before him.

He cleared his throat, "And here we have Mr. Potter, I'm glad to finally say I've finally got to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too," Harry said, acknowledging the man with a forced smile and head nod.

"Okay, so… we're here to discuss the allegations against your step-father, correct, Miss. Granger?"

"Y-yes, sir," she said already wishing this was over now.

"Would you like do tell me about it? Arthur and Molly explained the situation to me yesterday, but for me to do anything about it I need a formal complain filed on your part. After that I can see what we can do."

Hermione let out a huge sigh and started to restate the story she had told Mrs. Weasley two days prior. She kept pausing every few words, looking to Harry or Mrs. Weasley for support, each time one of them responding with a squeeze of the hand, hand on the shoulder or encouraging smile. By the time she was finished telling the tale and answering Mr. Bartell's questions nearly two hours had passed by.

"Well," the head auror started, "We can charge him with rape and battery, depending on if he pleads guilty or not will decide what happens next, though. If he pleads guilty, a judge will automatically sentence him, if not then we'll have to go to trail, which will mean you must take the stand. Do you think you could go through with that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her, which made Hermione inwardly cringe.

"If it gets him away from my Mum and I, I think I have to. But, Mr. Bartell, sir, he's not magical, so where will he be going to prison. Surely he can't go to Azkaban," she asked.

"You are correct, for situation like these we work with our contacts at the muggle police. The muggles will be the ones to arrest him and bring him in, but we'll have one of us working closely with them," he replied.

Hermione shook her head, acknowledging she understood.

"So, any other questions you would like to ask before we end this?" He looked around, with no response from the four people sitting before he said, "Well, then I'll be off to talk with our contact at the muggle police department. We'll let you know when he's in custody Hermione, and what the next step of action will be. Okay?" he said.

In response Hermione nodded once again and uttered a small, "thanks," before standing up with Harry, taking a position behind him. She knew Mr. Bartell was nothing like Frank, but it didn't stop her uneasiness.

Mrs. And Mrs. Weasley also stood up, taking to Bartell before he exited the room. Mrs. Weasley then turned to Hermione with a smile saying, "I'm very proud of you dear. It takes a lot of courage to do what you just did. Michael is a good man, we knew him from school. I'm sure he'll do everything possible," then gave the younger girl a fierce hug.

Mr. Weasley then stepped up next, which once again cause Hermione to take a slight step back, pressing her up back against Harry's chest. The action shocked her slightly, She knew Mr. Weasley for years now, and she knew he would never hurt her. Yet once again that anxiousness started to bubble up in her stomach again.

Her small action made him frown but then said, "I understand your uneasiness, Hermione. But I promise you; I could never hurt you in any way. I am very glad you felt comfortable enough to come to us when you needed help. We'll always be here if you need us," he said. Hearing this made Hermione feel better and she stepped forward to give him a hug.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," she said into his shoulder. He smiled and gave her a small pat on the back.

Mrs. Weasley sniffled from near by, and wiped at her eyes. "Oh jeez, there I go getting all emotional. Let get out of here before the serious water works start."

[BREAK]

The Weasley's, along with Harry and Hermione didn't return back to the burrow until around noon, finding Ginny and Ron in the living room playing wizards chess and listening to the radio.

"We're back," cried Mr. Weasley as she opened the door to the living room.

"Hey," muttered Ron into the palm of his hand, which is head was resting upon.

"Hi Mum," Ginny said, keeping her attention focused on the game in front of her.

Harry went and sat next to Ron on the sofa, while Hermione took a seat on an open chair, picking up the book from the coffee table and began to read.

"Well then, I'll just go start lunch," Mrs. Weasley said, then exited the room.

The moment she left though Ginny and Ron turned their attention onto the two people who did not have the last name of Weasley.

"So, where did you two go?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, why didn't we get to come?" Ron asked in a hushed voice, not wanting his mum to hear.

"We went to talk to someone in the auror office," Hermione said, trying to pay attention to her book. _'Technically, that is the truth, just not the whole truth. So it's not really lying… right?'_

"What did you go talk to them about? Why'd both of you need to go?" Ginny asked.

Harry gave Hermione a look, asking her to respond, since he wasn't sure how much he could tell.

"I had to… talk to them about some things. Harry came with me for support."

"What things?" questioned Ginny.

Hermione sighed, putting her book back on the table. This wasn't how she had planned to tell them, "I've been having some… issues… with my step-dad. I told your Mum and then she told your Dad, and then they decided they should report it."

"What kind of issues?"

Hermione looked to Harry this time, unsure how to tell them exactly.

"He gets angry and likes to take it out on Hermione and her Mum," Harry said, not exactly telling everything.

Ginny gasped and looked to Hermione, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" she asked, sounding slightly hurt, which made Hermione feel bad for not telling her everything.

"I guess I was ashamed. I'm a witch for goodness sake and I couldn't even fight back," she said looking down and ringing her hands.

"What did he do?" asked Ron.

Hermione had been hoping one of them wouldn't ask out right, she sighed again, deciding to be honest, "He was abusive in basically every sense of the word."

Ginny's facial expression changed from sadness to disgust, "He didn't… he didn't… rape, you or something. Right?" she asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

Hermione once again felt uncomfortable, "He did. "

Ginny wasn't sure what to say, so instead gave her friend a hug. "I'm sorry Hermione. What's going to happen to your step-dad now? Did Dad help?"

"They are sending the muggle police out to arrest him. Mr. Bartell said he'd let me know how everything went and what the next step is."

"I hope they kill him," Ron said. Hermione hadn't noticed until now that Ron's face was rather red and his fists were clenched.

"I second that one," Harry said.

"No one should be killed, but I hope they put him away for good. I don't want to see him ever again," Hermione said leaning her back against the chair and crossing her arms.

"I'm sure they will, they can't let someone like him out free to roam the street, right?" Ginny asked.

"Lets hope so," stated Hermione.

* * *

_Authors Note: Sorry this is a few days late everyone. I had a busy weekend and my classes have kept me rather busy these last few days. Plus, I was working on my original story for fictionpress. The next chapter she be posted on Sunday or Monday, as usual. But, here is the new chapter and I hope you like it. =]_

_Onto the reviews... =]  
_

_Thank you to Romulus, SummerRay2010, HarryPotterFinalFantasyFanatic, and Lalalalalaj for reviewing._

_gravacor, a lip piercing can effect your gums and cause serious mouth related issues. I've talked to a professional piercer and have been getting information on it recently, since I am possibly getting mine pierced soon. There probabaly are spells to keep it clean, but that won't help with the rubbing of the piercing against the gums and teeth. Hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reviewing. =]_

_Marbleandtoast, I don't think telling your friends you've been raped would be all that easy. Especailly since Ron and Hermione have never been very close, usually spending their time bickering. As for Hermione and Ginny, ive never seen much of a connection there; Which is why she told Harry first. But, they know now at least. Thanks for reviewing. =]_

_Thanks to the people who review in advance, thanks for making my day better. =]_


	7. Chapter 7

Save Me From The Dark, a Harry Potter fic

**Chapter Seven  
Official**

The day passed by extremely slowly for the four teens at the burrow. They tried to mask their uneasiness about the pending outcome by keeping themselves busy, but to an outside observer it was obvious they wanted to know what happened with Hermione's step-dad and the police.

When morning finally game they were quick to rise and headed to the kitchen at eight a.m. to eat breakfast. When ten past eleven o'clock finally rolled around and a knock was heard from the back door, followed by, "Good Morning, Michael," from Mrs. Weasley the four teens stopped playing their chess game in the living room and looked to the door leading into the kitchen.

Soon after, "Hermione, could you come in here please?" was heard through the opening in the wall.

Hermione looked to Harry with a nervous glance, which he returned with an encouraging look. She stood slowly and made her way into the kitchen. Seeing Michael made that uneasy feeling return, but she tried to be brave and made her way toward him. She tried to get idea of what had happened by the look on his face, but she couldn't since he was facing away from her.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley?" she asked, announcing her presence. Michael Bartell turned to face her. She sudden felt her self feel better when she saw he had a smile on his face.

"I have some good news for you, Hermione," he said as the young girl advanced toward him.

"What happened, did everything go ok?" she asked.

"Oh my, I would say yes. I would have come over last night to give you the good news, but by the time I was back to the station and done with everything it was nearing eleven o'clock. After meeting with you I met up with Alexander, my contact at the muggle police department. Once I had showed him the memory of my conversation with you, he sent four of his officers to arrest your stepfather. It was good timing too, from what I heard when the police pulled up in front of your home there was rather loud screams coming from inside. Once the police realized what was happening they busted in the door and found your stepfather beating your mother rather badly."

"Is she… is she, alright?" Hermione asked.

"She'll be ok. They took her to the hospital, I'm sure they are taking very good care of her."

"We'll take you to visit her later, Hermione, okay?" Mrs. Weasley said, patting her on the back in a comforting way.

"When the police tired to arrest him, he put up quite a bit of a fight. From what I heard he tried fighting the police off. Which works to your advantage, he's now being charged with assault of a police officer and resisting arrest, along with the battery and rape charges by you. When they finally got him to the police station he pleaded guilty… although that was after I had a… chat… with him. So rest assured, you won't have to take the stand. He'll see the judge tomorrow morning and be sentenced," he said.

Hermione started to cry tears of joy, Frank was finally gone and he could never hurt her or her mum again. The next time she went home she wouldn't have to be scared, it would all be ok.

"Thank you Mr. Bartell, thank you so very much, I'm sure my Mum would too if she could," Hermione said, now willingly coming closer and shaking his hand.

"No problem miss, this is my job. He'll see the judge tomorrow at nine a.m., you can come if you would like. You'll be allowed to speak before he's sentences if you so choose also," he said. "Now, I should head back to the office, I still have some more paperwork to do, have a good day," he said before he tipped his hat to Mrs. Weasley and Hermione, then headed out the door.

Once he left Mrs. Weasley gave a sigh of relief and hugged Hermione tightly, "I'm so happy Hermione, everything will be okay now. If you go get ready I'll take you to see your Mum before lunch is ready."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, for everything. I'll go tell the others and then get ready to leave," she said before exiting the room.

[BREAK]

The air in the living room where Ron, Ginny and Harry sat was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ron was bouncing his knee up and down in an anxious way and Ginny had taken to tapping her finger against the arm of her chair. Harry, on the other hand, sat completely still and dead silent, staring at the door that Hermione had walked through. He hoped everything had gone okay. Although part of him was hoping he'd be set free so he could personally see that he got what was coming to him. He knew Hermione wouldn't approve, so for her sake, and his, hopefully that man was behind bars.

When Hermione finally walked through the doorway with an enormous smile on her face he felt his heart drop from his throat back into his chest, where it belonged.

"They arrested him and he pleaded guilty," she said. Harry couldn't help himself; he pulled her into a warm embrace, that Hermione readily returned. When she pulled back she noticed Ron had a strange look on his face that she couldn't exactly put a name to. Ginny on the other hand was smiling and then gave her a hug, too.

"The police caught him beating my mum though, they had to take her to the hospital. Mrs. Weasley is going to take me to visit her in a while. I really hope she is okay, I don't think I could live with myself if she wasn't," she said, her smile lessening.

"I'm sure she'll be okay, Hermione," Harry said taking her hand and giving it a squeeze, which made Ron turn slightly Red.

Ron walked up and put his arm around Hermione's shoulders, making Hermione shy away slightly and say, "Yeah, I'm sure she's okay."

Harry didn't like Ron's sudden need to put his hands on Hermione and decided to get him away from her.

"You should go get ready, I can come if you want," Harry said.

"Or I could," Ron said.

Hermione looked between the two boys, curious as to why both suddenly wanted to take a trip with her to a muggle hospital. "No… it's ok. I think this is something I should do alone. I'll see you all later, okay?" She asked before heading up the stairs without waiting for a response.

When she reached the room Her and Harry had been sharing for the last few days she took a seat on her bed and let out a huge sigh of relief, letting all her anxiousness and worry that had built up within her escape.

Frank was gone. Her Mum was away from him. She, Hermione, was away from him. He'd probably end up in jail for a long time. Things would be okay. After her summer of hell was starting to finally turn around.

Getting up from the bed she went to her closet and picked out a light pink t-shirt and tan skirt, heading into the bathroom to change. She wanted to look nice when she saw her mum.

When she arrived back down in the kitchen ten minutes later Mrs. Weasley was putting a pan into the oven to cook while they were gone.

"Ready to, dear?" she asked?

"Yep, all ready Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for taking me to see my mum."

"No problem, no problem all. Lets get going."

[BREAK]

When they arrived at the hospital after taking the floo to a nearby wizard store, and then walking a few blocks to the muggle hospital Hermione's Mum was at, it was nearly a half an hour later. They walked up to the front desk and asked which room Hermione's mum was staying in, the young girl behind the counter replied with, "Room 312, take the elevate to the third floor, then make a right at the end of the hall way." Hermione quickly gave her a, "thanks," and led Mrs. Wesley toward the elevator.

"These muggles do well without magic, I don't know how they do it," she said. Hermione laughed a little as the door to the elevator closed and it began to rise. When they reached level three the elevator dinged and the doors open. Both women exited and walked down the hall, taking a right at the end of it.

Hermione made sure to check each plaque by the doors, not wanting to miss room 312. When she finally arrived she saw her Mum sitting up in bed, watching the television that was mounted on the wall.

"Mum!" she exclaimed as she ran toward her mother and hugged her.

"Oh, It feels so good to finally be able to see you," she said.

"I know," she said, basking in the feeling.

"I'm so proud of you. You did what I couldn't," Her mother said.

"I'm just glad this is over." She said.

"How did you do it? One moment he was hitting me, and then the next thing I knew the police were pulling him away and I was being put on a stretcher. When I asked some man how he knew, he told me he had talked with you," Her mother replied.

"When I got to The Burrow, Harry noticed something seemed different. Eventually he got me to tell him everything, which led to telling Mrs., Weasley, and then she told her husband who works at the ministry. He talked to the auror's, but then I had to tell them everything, and then they talked with the muggle police and they were sent to arrest Frank."

Her Mother gave her another hug, "I'm so proud of you Hermione, I wasn't even strong enough to tell someone the truth. But you did, and now things are going to be ok. I promise you sweetheart, he'll never hurt you again. I shouldn't have let him in the first place.""

"It's ok, Mum. It wasn't your fault. Neither of us could do anything about it. It's over now. Frank pleaded guilty to the rape and battery charge, and when the police tried to arrest them he hit an officer and tried to run away. Now they are adding on an assault of a police office charge and resisting arrest charge. I don't think we'll be seeing him for a long time."

"That makes me more happy than you can imagine. I think I'm going to sell the house and move somewhere else. That house holds too many bad memories for us, what do you think of that idea?"

"I think it sounds like an amazing idea."

[BREAK]

Later that night Hermione lay in bed, watching Harry on his own, reading a magazine. She felt immense gratitude for the boy before her eyes. Without him she would still have been able to tell anyone about what had been happening to her. Ever since telling Harry the truth, the razor had been left at the bottom of her trunk. Every once in a while she would get the urge to cut herself, but every time she resisted.

Everything in her life was finally looking up. Frank would get his sentence in the morning, she still wasn't sure if she wanted to go. Her Mum was on her way to recovery. The bruises on her skin were almost gone, which meant she could soon stop taking the potion every morning. Her Mother had decided to sell their current house and buy a new home, which Hermione was glad about. She wasn't sure she could ever live in that house again with all the memories that occurred in it. Her mum had also promised they would visit her fathers grave, since they hadn't yet. Frank had never allowed them, but now he was gone and they could do as they pleased.

Harry glanced over at her and blushed when he realized she had been watching him. Hermione blushed back at the fact she'd been caught. She rose from her bed and made her way to his, sitting on the edge. They hadn't been touching much lately, except for holding hands when no one was looking. She missed the feeling on his arms being wrapped around her. She wanted to feel it again.

"Can I have a hug?" she asked, suddenly feeling like an idiot. Harry gave a confused looked for a brief second, but then returned to his blushing state standing up from the bed, pulling her up with him and wrapping his arms tightly around her. She returned by placing her arms around his waist and snuggling into his chest.

She knew she wanted them to be more than friends. She just wasn't sure she was able to tell him she was okay with it now. It had only been a day since she told him she wanted to see what happened. Things were looking better now though, she was finally calm and could actually focus on them since everything would be normal once again.

She just wasn't sure how to let him know, and then she realized she could think of one way but was unsure of how he'd react.

'_Only one way to find out…' _she thought before placing her right hand behind his neck and pulled his head down slightly while she stood on the tips of her toes. Harry was caught off guard for a moment, unsure of what she was doing. Then suddenly comprehension dawned on him. He placed his right hand on her cheek and brought his lips down to meet hers, placing a soft kiss on them. Hermione responded by placing her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his.

When they pulled away from each other, they both had goofy grins on their faces and a red tint to their cheeks.

"I'm hoping this means you're my girlfriend now, I don't want you to be a scarlet women," he said.

She smiled at him, "Is that your way of asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Why yes it is," he said.

"Well then, I accept," She said with a smile.

"Now that were official, can we do that again?" he asked,

"I believe we can do that as much as we want now," she said.

"Good, because you're a rather good kisser Miss. Granger," he said, leaning in for another kiss.

"So are you, Mr. Potter," she said before meeting his lips once again.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry this is late again, FanFiction hasn't let me login the last couple days, which is lame since this has been ready to post since Saturday night. Next chapter will be up Sunday, assuming FanFiction isn't being stupid again. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. =]**

**Thank you to WWEFan182, bbyluv, SummerRay2010, lalalalalaj, gravacor, and nxkris for leaving a review. =]  
**

**Thank you in advance to the people who leave a review. =]**

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize from the Harry Potter series, anything you do not recognize is my own.

* * *

**THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER.**

* * *

Save Me From The Dark, a Harry Potter fic

**Chapter Eight  
Safe From The Dark**

Their kiss was interrupted when they heard a door slam from the floor below them. The two teens jumped apart, looking at each other with an, 'oh shit' look.

"You don't think someone saw, right?"

"I hope not, oh god, what if Ron did?" Hermione asked with a nervous undertone.

"Why does that matter?" Harry asked.

"Please tell me you aren't that thick, Harry. Ron's fancied me for ages now. I keep trying to point him in a different direction, but I don't think he's given up on me. If he finds out were together he's going to go postal," she said.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh's right. You should go talk to him," she said, pushing him toward the door.

"Please don't make me, please," he said as he dug his heals into the floor.

"Fine, then I will," she huffed in frustration, "I'll be back in a little while."

Hermione quietly crept down a floor to the room Ron had been residing in since Harry had arrived. She knocked on the door lightly, whispering, "Ron? Are you awake?" She heard soft footsteps within, and then the door was pulled open.

"What do you want, Hermione?" he asked, obviously perturbed.

She was taken aback slightly; Ron was usually cheery and making jokes. "I came to see why you were slamming your door," she said, not willingly to imply she had just been kissing his best mate.

"Nothing, I was just angry. Go to bed," he said.

"You saw, didn't you?" she asked.

"Saw you kiss, Harry? Yeah, I saw. I shouldn't be surprised, I should have known you fancied him all along. He is "The Boy Who Lived" after all," he said throwing himself back onto his bed.

"It's not like that, Ron, and you know it," she Hermione, still standing by the doorway.

"Oh come off it Hermione, you're only a girl, and every girl likes the famous Harry Potter," he said.

"Stop being a prat," she said, now getting angry. "I came down to see if you were okay, not to get yelled at. If you want to act like a jealous arse, then go ahead."

He sighed, "Why does he get everything he wants?"

"You know he doesn't," she said.

"He got you," he replied.

She sighed, now feeling badly, "Harry and I… we understand each other, Ron. You'll find someone new, someone who likes you back."

"What if I don't want to find someone new, what if I want you?" he asked, standing and advancing toward her, slowly backing her into a wall.

"R-Ron, I'm not what you want, really," She said.

"I think you are though, I can prove it, I can prove it's me you want, not Harry," he said as he backed her against the wall even more, placing his hands on either side of her so she couldn't move out of the way.

"R-Ron, stop," she said, trying to push him away.

"You know you have feelings for me too," he said as he pressed the length of his body against her and kissed her hard on the lips. She stood still for a second, wishing he would stop on his own. She suddenly pushed him rather hard, making him stumble back a few feet, giving her a chance to get away.

[BREAK]

Harry was standing in front of the window, watching the moon high in the sky. Suddenly he heard the door to the room open and slam against the wall behind it, making him jump and turn to face whoever caused the disturbance. All he saw though was a blurry flash of hair before Hermione was in his arms.

Harry was confused for a second, unsure of what to say. "Did Ron really take it that badly? "It's ok, he'll get over it Hermione, don't worry," he said.

She didn't say anything until Ron opened the door and called her name, making Harry place himself between the two of them.

"What did you do, Ron? She told me you fancied her, but come on mate, it's not like there aren't other girls out there," he said.

"Y-you didn't tell him?" He asked the crying girl.

"Tell me what?" he asked, pulling Hermione slightly away from his body to look at her face.

"H-he corn-cornered me against the w-wall, and k-kissed me, he d-didn't s-stop w-when I t-told him t-to," she said in between sobs.

Harry turned his attention back to Ron, his face getting red, and his fists clenching.

"Get out," was all he said.

"Harry… I didn't mean to upset her," he said.

"Get out, Ron, or I will physically remove you," he said as the candle in the room starter to flicker. Ron started to back out of the room, whispering, "Sorry," before closing the door behind him.

Once Harry was sure he heard Ron's bedroom door close he returned his attention back to the crying girl in his arms.

"He scared me," she said.

"I know," he replied.

"It reminded me of…" she started, and then cut herself off, unable to finish.

"I know," he said again. She snuggled in closer to his chest.

"Don't hurt him, I don't think he realized he was scaring me so bad," she said.

"Not even one good hit? As your boyfriend I think I'm entitled to at least that," he joked.

"No. This was his one freebee, next time you can hit him, okay?" she asked.

"If you say so. I still think a good knock on the head wouldn't hurt though. I don't get how he could have been that stupid, Ron isn't the brightest, but he's not that much of a dimwit."

"He was just upset. He saw what he wanted slipping away, and he had to try and get it back. He doesn't know everything that happened to me, he couldn't possibly realize he would have that effect," she said, "sometimes I wish he thought things through though. It brought back too many memories, now I feel weird again."

"What do you mean by weird?" he asked.

"I don't know, just strange, like my body feels… awkward or something. Or like Frank is going to suddenly appear out of no where," she said, a shiver running down her spine which Harry could feel because of her close proximity.

"He's in jail, he can't touch you, don't worry. If he came near you I would kill him anyway, he'd never get a chance to hurt you again, Hermione," he said, completely serious.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" she asked, "…I know he's in jail, but…"

"I understand, you don't have to explain. If you want to you can, but if Mrs. Weasley finds you in my bed I'm telling her you climbed in while I was asleep."

"Deal," she said.

"Get changed for bed, I'm tired, " He said. He released her from his arms as she moved to her trunk to get her pajamas. Once she had exited the room to change for bed harry exchanged his jeans for pajama pants. Normally he would have taken off his shirt, but since she would be in his bed he figured he would leave it on. He pulled back the covers and laid down, getting comfortable. Soon after Hermione walked in wearing pink pajama pants with a white tank top, leaving her dirty clothes next to her trunk to be washed.

Slowly she made her way toward his bed, now feeling extremely awkward. Harry, noticing her hesitation pulled back the covers to show her it was ok. Seeing this action made the butterflies in her stomach calm slightly and she blew out the candle between the beds before lying down.

At first she stayed on her side, facing him, not daring to touch him. Harry didn't want to upset her, so he stayed on his side of the bed, which was difficult since it was rather small. He knew Ron had frightened her when he was too forward with her, he didn't want to push her if she wasn't ready for it.

"This feels different," she said, being blunt.

"I noticed," he said.

"Why does it?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said, not being entirely honest.

"We've laid in bed together before," she said.

"We weren't a couple then," he said.

"That's true, but... shouldn't this be more… natural, to us then?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm kind of scared to touch you," he said, being honest.

"You shouldn't be, I like when you do," she said, blushing.

With that being said, he shifted to his back, pulling her so she was resting her head on his chest. He let his right hand glide up and down her side.

"This feels better," she said.

"I agree," he said, yawning shortly after.

"You're tired, go to sleep. Goodnight, Harry," she said.

"Goodnight, 'Mione," he replied, kissing he softly on the lips.

[BREAK]

Morning dawned bright and early, as did Harry. He woke up, smiling when he realized Hermione was lying next to him still_. 'I could get used to this' _he thought. Last night was the best night of sleep he had gotten in a long time; especially since the last couple weeks he had been having strange dreams. But with Hermione sleeping peacefully next to him his dreams were also calm. He rolled onto his side, bringing her body closer to his.

The bruises on her face had started to reappear during the night; he could now see the light blue bruises laid out across her face. A dark mark was visible on her upper left arm, which he happened to notice was in the shape of a handprint. He took a deep breath, not wanting to get upset and wake her.

She looked innocent sleeping, if the bruises weren't there no one would have any idea what she had been put though the last few months. He couldn't help but blame himself partially. If he had read the signs better, visited when she said she was too busy to see him and Ron, wrote more often… maybe he could have got her away from that arse sooner.

He had a feeling Ron was going to present a small issue. He'd never really picked up on the whole Ron liking Hermione thing. If he had known he wouldn't have told her how he felt, ok… he probably still would have. It just might have taken a bit longer. It wasn't like Ron had some claim over her, yet he still felt slightly guilty.

He made up his mind that he would talk to Ron after breakfast and see if he could settle things between them. Besides, he wanted to make it clear to him if he upset Hermione ever again he would bash his head against a wall.

[BREAK]

Harry's plans to talk to Ron after breakfast were interrupted when Ron took the initiative instead. As Harry walked down the stairs into the kitchen, Ron stood up from the table and asked if he could talk to him in the living room for a minute. Harry and Hermione shared a glance before Harry said, "sure", and they both exited the room.

Ron stood near the table, which Harry stood a couple feet in front of.

"I really am sorry," Ron started.

"You shouldn't have done that," Harry said.

"I know. I wasn't thinking, Harry, honestly. You know I don't want to hurt her," he said.

"You did though, you scared her pretty badly. You should have thought about what you were doing," he said.

"I'll apologize to her. I just… I don't know. I thought maybe if I kissed her she'd realize it was me that she wanted," he said, looking ashamed.

"If you were any other bloke I would have hit you for that. Right now the only thing that's really stopping me is Hermione, be glad I don't want to upset her even more," he said.

"Yeah, thanks by the way… you know, for not hitting me," he said.

"I didn't this time, but if you do anything to her again, I will," he said.

"Alright. I'm okay with that," he said.

"Good. I didn't know you liked her mate, honestly," he said.

"I know, it's ok I guess," he said.

"I heard Lavender likes you, though."

"Really? She looks pretty good. I guess I could give her a try," he said.

"So, we are okay then?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Oh, and the same goes for you mate, if you hurt her I'll kill you," Ron replied.

"Deal," he laughed.

[BREAK]

Back in the kitchen Mrs. Weasley was finishing preparing breakfast for the family. She was just placing a pile of food upon the table when Harry and Ron reentered the room.

"Good morning, everyone," she said. "Morning" was heard from the teens sitting around the table.

"Hermione dear, have you decided about going to see the sentencing today?" She asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I think seeing him might be too hard," she said.

"Well it's entirely up to you dear."

"I don't think I really want to go. It sounded like they have a really good case from what Mr. Bartell said, and I'd rather not see him again if I don't have to," she said.

"Yes, it did sound like he was going to get what he deserved," replied the older women with a smile playing across her lips.

"Can you ask Mr. Bartell to send word when he gets his sentence, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione asked.

"No problem dear, I'll send a letter right after breakfast. Can I borrow Hedwig, Harry? I'd rather not use our owl on something this important," she asked.

"Sure Mrs. Weasley, she's in her cage right now. I'll bring her down after we finish eating," he said.

"Good, good. Well then, tuck in everybody."

[BREAK]

Later that day as Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny were playing a game of exploding snap they heard a light tap on the window. Ginny automatically stood up and opened the window, letting a large brown owl with black specs fly though the opening and land on the red haired girls shoulder.

Ginny untied the letter that was strung to the birds left foot and read the front of the card.

"Hermione, it's addressed to you," Ginny said, holding the envelope out for Hermione to take.

Hermione took the envelope from Ginny's out stretched hand and saw her name written in a messy scrawl across the front of it. She looked down at the rectangular object with apprehension. It was no doubt from Mr. Bartell telling her of the outcome of the sentencing hearing.

Earlier she had been so confidant that the police had enough evidence to convict, but as she stood there, looking at the envelope that could change her life drastically, she became less sure.

If they found him not guilty, Frank would be allowed back on the street, and he would no doubt be angry with her and her mum for getting him arrested. Sleeping at night would be impossible, as would being able to focus on her relationship with Harry. Then again, if they convicted him then her life would return to normal and she could move on like the last few months had not happened. The only thing to remind her would be the grave marker over her father's grave and the scars on her arms.

Whatever was written in the envelope would change everything in her life.

She sighed, handing it to Harry, "I can't open it," she said. "Would you?" she said.

"Sure," he said, ripping a slip across the top and slipping the folded paper from within into the open.

He looked down at it for a moment before unfolding it and beginning to read. Ginny, Ron and Hermione looked on with worried looks on their faces.

"They found him guilty, on all accounts. He got life, he'll never get out, Mr. Bartell swore to that. They deemed him a danger to society with all the violence he has committed," he said before wrapping his arms around Hermione and swinging her around in a circle.

That was the end. Frank was officially gone, and Mr. Bartell would make sure he'd never get out. She sighed, feeling a huge grin spread across her face.

[BREAK]

The summer passed by quickly for Hermione after things had started to calm down. Her Mum was better and had hired a real estate agent to help her look for a new home; they were to start looking in the coming weeks. Since Hermione would be back in school her mum promised she would take lots of pictures and send them to her, so she could have an input in where they would be moving.

After receiving the letter from Mr. Bartell telling of Franks sentence, Hermione had finally felt like things were finished. Knowing he was arrested had made her happy, but knowing he was sentenced to life made her happy beyond belief.

Her and Harry had enjoyed the last few weeks of summer before they had to head back to Hogwarts. The night before they were to wake and get on the train to school for their sixth year they found themselves alone in the room they had been sharing.

Hermione was emptying her trunk into her bed, trying to reorganize everything and put her books into place when the sight of shiny metal caught her attention. She picked up the razor that had been her relief through all her pain during the early part of the summer and felt regret for what she had done to herself. She now had a few scars across her arms, a reminder of her earlier pain.

As she was looking at the razor, Harry came up and stood off to the side, "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Thinking," she replied.

"About what?" he asked.

"Everything," she laughed.

He looked down at her hands, seeing what she was holding, "What are you doing with that?"

"Just looking, I found it while organizing my trunk, don't worry," she said turning to face him.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to understand how you could to that to yourself, but I'm glad you're done with it," he said.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. All I know is, I felt like this darkness was starting to engulf me, and I had nowhere go to. Cutting made it go away, it gave me relief. Even though it was for a short time, it was relief none the less," she said.

"Do you don't need it anymore?" he asked.

"Definitely not," she said as he turned and picked on the wastebasket that was on the floor beside him, putting it in front of her. She took one last look at the thing that had helped her though her pain and dropped it into the trash.

"Know how I can throw it away?" she asked as he put the basket back onto the floor, and then pulled her to him, circling his arms around her waist.

"How?" he asked, bringing his face to hers.

"Because I found a light in all that darkness," she said.

"And what was the light?" he asked.

"You," she asked with a smile. He smiled back at her, kissing her gently.

"I love you, Hermione, and I'll be your light any day," he said.

She smiled at him, "I love you, too", she said before kissing him again.

Things finally were right once again; the darkness was gone and replaced with the light of Harry's love, a love that would be there everyday of her life, until her dying day.

* * *

**Authors Note: I hope you all enjoyed this story, I definitely enjoyed writing it and finally finishing it after five years. I know some of you were wishing Hermione would go to the sentencing hearing, but I think she just wanted to move on with her life. Having to put herself in his presence again would have had a major effect on her moving forward. Some of you may not agree with how I handled everything, and that is fine, you are all allowed your own opinion. To everyone who reviewed, especially SummerRay2010, gravacor, lalalalalaj and Romulus, thank you; I love hearing what you all think. I really hope I did a good job at showing how Hermione dealt with everything. I've never been in her exact situation, the rape issue to me was completely guess work. Hopefully you all will be semi-okay with the way I ended things. This chapter is four pages longer than my usual, I was going to split it up into two, but decided one long one was better. =]**

**I'm planning on starting a new Harry Potter or Twilight ffic while I go back and redo a previous story I wrote, along with doing a couple original fics on my FictionPress account. If you like my writing you should check the account out. Link it it is on my profile. =]**

**And now onto the reviews... =]**

**Thank you go GimmeAbeat, Romulus, lalalalalaj, gravacor, snapehater, WWEFan182, and Flamingred08 for reviewing. =]**

**bbyluv, I checked through the document and it was never spelt Weasly(once wesley), so I am assuming you meant that is how you think it's spelt. Weasley is the correct spelling of their last name. Thank you for reviewing. =]**


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